GUEST & SPEAKER STRUCTURE

Chief Guest: Mr. Rehan Asif Asad — Hon'ble Adviser to the Prime Minister, Posts, Telecommunications and IT (State Minister status) 

Moderator : Mr. T I M Nurul Kabir, Executive Director , The Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)  

Panelist (Government):  Mr. Md. Mamunur Rashid Bhuiyan — Secretary, Information and Communication Technology Division

Panelist (Government):  Major General Md Emdad Ul Bari (Retd.) — Chairman, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)

Panelist (Private):  Rubaba Dowla, Oracle Country Head

Panelist (Private):  Yasir Azman, CEO, Grameenphone Ltd (Promised)

Panelist (Development Partner): Representative from UNDP

Panelist (Innovator):  A. S. M. Shamim Reza, Founder & Chief of Research, The Team Phoenix

CONTEXT & BACKGROUND

Bangladesh has over 190 million mobile connections and around 135 million internet subscribers (BTRC), with 4G networks covering nearly the entire population and 5G trials under way. Yet connectivity is still consumed mostly as communication, not as a production platform: IoT adoption in industry, agriculture and utilities remains at an early stage, and much of the country's data is processed and stored abroad. The GSMA estimates that mobile technologies and services already generate a significant share of regional GDP, and the next multiplier for Bangladesh lies in what rides on the network — IoT devices, sensors, cloud services, data centres and intelligent applications woven into daily life and business operations.

SYNOPSIS

The next economy will run on reliable, affordable and secure connectivity capable of supporting AI, cloud services, IoT and data-intensive business. Designed for telecom operators, IP and connectivity companies and data-driven enterprises, this session examines the infrastructure layer behind Bangladesh's digital transformation — high-speed networks, 5G readiness, data centres, sovereign cloud and the IoT innovations entering homes, factories and public services. It focuses on turning connectivity investment into measurable productivity and new digital services, and on extending digital opportunity beyond Dhaka so the whole country can participate in the innovation economy.

OBJECTIVE OF THE SESSION

Define the connectivity, cloud, data and IoT priorities required for an AI-ready and digitally inclusive Bangladesh, and identify how telecom, IP and data-driven companies can commercialize the next generation of connected services.